Sleet scraper for third rail assembly



June 30, 1970 H. w. WESSELLS m, ETAL SLEET SCRAPER FOR THIRD RAIL ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 19, 1968 INVENTORS June 30, 1970 H. w. WESSELLS m, ETAL 3,517,737

SLEET SCRAPER FOR THIRD RAIL ASSEMBLY Filed April 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HENRY W.WESSELLS,I1I BY WALTER B. DEAN ZJJCQMW-W AGENT United States Patent 3,517,787 SLEET SCRAPER FOR THIRD RAIL ASSEMBLY Henry W. Wessells III, Paoli, and Walter B. Dean, Narberth, Pa., assignors to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 722,754

Int. Cl. B601 /02 US. Cl. 191-62 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Third rail sleet scraper assembly for a truck of a railway vehicle. A sleet scraper head is connected to one end of a tube for resisting torsion induced by sliding contact of the head with the rail. The other end of the tube is connected to a spring loaded arm mounted for pivotal movement in a manner to accommodate for vertical height adjustment of the scraper head. Electrically non-conductive sleeve means in the form of a torque tube precludes electrical arcing between the third rail and the truck structure of the railway vehicle.

Heretofore during certain winter operation of railway vehicles on electrified trackage with a third rail, scraper apparatus has been provided to remove accumulations of sleet and ice from the third rail. Such apparatus has been subject to certain shortcomings. Twisting loads induced by the sliding action of the scraper head on the third rail have tended to periodically lift the head from the rail leaving discontinuous layers of ice or sleet intact. The unremoved ice thus remaining on the rail has im peded the full flow of electrical current through the pick-up shoes until after the ice has been burned off.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved sleet scraper apparatus for a railway vehicle which avoids one or more of the disadvantages of the prior-art arrangements and which has an improved efliciency.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel sleet scraper apparatus for a railway vehicle which has improved torsion resistant capabilities and which embodies insulating and flash shielding.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the sleet scraper apparatus of the present invention aflixed to the sideframe of a truck of a railway vehicle;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of apparatus shown in FIG. 1, certain parts being broken away and certain parts shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and showing the top surface of cam;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the locking cam as viewed along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of scraper head assembly as viewed along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of a modified form of the invention similar to that shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a .view partially in section taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing there is shown a plan view of a complete sleet scraper apparatus 10 em- 3,517,787 Patented June 30, 1970 bodying the invention aflixed to the sideframe 11 of a truck T of a railway vehicle. The apparatus is located behind a wheel W associated with the truck and is adapted to make contact with a third rail 13 spaced outboard of the wheel.

The scraper head apparatus comprises a scraper mounting head frame assembly 15 with downwardly projecting scrapt r blades 17 adapted to make scraping contact with the third rail 13. Torque tube means 19 are secured at one end to the head frame assembly and at the end opposite thereof to arm means 21. The torque tube means 19 are interposed so as to come between the frame assembly and the arm means. Bracket means 23 are provided to support the arm means for pivotal movement and extend outwardly from the side face 24 of sideframe 11. Spring means 25 engage the arm means and react against the bracket to normally urge the scraper blade 17 into contact with the third rail. Cam means 27 mounted in the bracket means and associated with the pivotal arm 21 means are manually movable to enable the scraper head assembly 15 to be moved into and out of engagement with the third rail 13.

As further seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 the bracket means 23 include a pair of plates 29, 30 which are suitably maintained in spaced apart fore and aft relationship, and project outwardly and downwardly from the afore mentioned external surface 24 of the sideframe 11. The plates 29, 30 support the arm means 21 therebetween in a position slightly inclined from the vertical. The arm means 21 are shown in the form of an upstanding tongue or base plate portion 31 and a horizontally outwardly extending tube 32 secured to the outer surface of base 31. A centrally located vertical rib portion 33 extends away from the opposite surface 34 of the base. A bottom hollow sleeve portion 35, in continuous connection with the bottom edge of the base portion 31, receives a pivot pin 37 having outer end portions thereof received in bearing sleeves 39. The sleeves are mounted in apertures -40 of the side plates 29, 30. Bolt means 41 suitably passed through apertures in sleeve 35 and pivot pin 37 secure the latter for unitary rotation with the tongue member 21. The spring means 25 which comprise a pair of spaced coil springs 43, 44 respectively straddle the rib 33. Each spring of the pair at one of its ends encircles a raised boss 45 projecting from base 31. A channel member 47 having depending flanges 48 is secured at its opposite ends to the inner surfaces of side plates 29, 30 of the bracket means 23. The other end of each of the springs 43, 44 are received by the channel member about which the spring reacts.

The torque tube means 19 is formed of a suitable electrically non-conductive material and includes a hollow tube portion 20 which surrounds the hollow tube 32. The latter tube 32 is secured as by welding to the upper outer surface 52 of base portion 31. The outer end of hollow tube 32 terminates at the inside surface of end wall 53 of the torque tube 20. The end wall is generally of rectangular configuration and includes flanges 54. A plate 55 abuts the outer surface 56 of the end-wall 53. Its outer surface in turn includes transverse ribbing or grooves 57. The scraper head assembly 15 comprises a mounting frame member 58 also having complemental matching transverse teeth 59 cooperable with grooves 57 of plate 55. The frame member 58 is secured in place by means of a pair of bolts 60 extending through aligned apertures 61, 62, 63 in frame member 58, plate 55, and flanges 54 respectively. It is noted that the apertures 61, FIG. 6, are elongated vertically to permit vertical adjustment of the scraper head relative to the third rail 13. The end of the torque sleeve 20' nearest the pivot arm 21 includes a pair of bosses 64. The inside diameter of sleeve 20 is 3 slightly less than the outside diameter of the member 32. The two parts are joined together in tight frictional engagement by axially forcing sleeve 20 over the inner tube member 32. In addition a transverse rod 65 is passed through suitable apertures provided through the bosses 64 of the sleeve and through tube 32 to prevent rotation between the two parts.

In order to move the scraper head between its operative and inoperative positions cam means 27 are mounted between the opposed bracket plates 29, 30. For this purpose the cam means are shown as comprising an elongated cam body member 66 pinned to a pivot rod 67 as at 68. The opposite ends of the pivot rod extend through the opposed plates 29, 30, being suitably journalled for rotation therein. The pivot rod is positioned beneath the torque tube means 19 and slightly outboard of the out cam face 69 of the base 31 of the spring loaded pivotal arm means 21. In the full line position of the cam member 66 as shown in FIG. 2 the cam includes lobe portions 71 which engage complemental curved portions in cam surface 69. In the full line position shown the arm means 21 and the spring means 25 are unable tomove due to the force exerted by the spring. In order to enable the scraper head means to be moved to an operative position handle means in the form of a rod 72 is afiixed to pivot rod 67 normal to its axis. Rotation of the handle in a clockwise direction rotates the cam member 66 to its phantom line position as shown in FIG. 2 in which the cam lobes 71 are disengaged from the cam surface 69 of pivot arm 21. This latter position of the cam which is spaced from the pivot arm enables counter-clockwise movement of the pivotal arm under the action of spring means 25.

A modified form of the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this arrangement a scraper head assembly 84 is shown attached to torque tube means 85. The scraper head assembly comprises a two-part composite rectangular frame 86 in which a right angle lower clamp 87 is joined by a similar upper angle clamp 88 suitably joined as by bolts 89 along a plane diagonal to the leg portions of the clamps 87, 88. The leg portions of the clamp define a rectangular opening 90. The lower clamp includes a horizontally disposed leg 91 having vertically disposed apertures 92 in its lower surface to receive a pair of downwardly extneding scraper blades 93 as by bolts 94. The torque tube means 85 includes an outer cylindrical tube 97 of electrically non-conductive material and an inner tube member 98 of suitable material such as steel received therein. The outer end portion 99 of tube 97 is squared off with plane surfaces so as to be gripped in abutting engagement by the margins of square aperture 90 formed by clamp segments 87, 88. The outer end portion of the inner tube 98 likewise includes a squared end portion 101 which is received in a complemental squared bore portion 102r Within end portion 99. The rectangular frame in addition is provided with lugs 105, 106 projecting inwardly from the opposite corners of the rectangular opening 90 and which engage recesses -7, 108 respectively in the outer wall surfaces of the torque tube 97. The lugs and recesses serve to determine the lateral position of the scraper head assembly relative to the truck and the third rail.

The inner end of the inner tubular member 98 is received in an aperture 111 of an end plate 110. The in- 4 board face 113 of the end plate defines a plurality of elongated horizontally disposed teeth 115 which unite the teeth 117 of base pad portion 118 integral with spring arm 21a. The latter spring arm 21a may be suitably actuated in a manner similar to that of spring arm 21 described in FIGS. 1 to '3 inclusive. Bolt means 119 extending through suitable apertures in laterally extending portions 120 of end plate 110 and laterally extending portions 121 of spring arm means 21 to secure the same in locked engagement. The apertures 122 of the spring arm 21a are elongated vertically to enable the end plate 110 carrying tthe torque tube means 85 and scraper head 84 to be shifted vertically to accommodate for wear. The inboard end of the outer torque tube 97 includes a pair of enlarged oppositely disposed bosses 125 and which include apertures 126 aligned with apertures 127 within inner tube member 98 to accommodate a transverse pin 128. Thus torque transmitted to the electrically non-conductive outer tube member 97 is resisted in shear by transverse pin 125 received in the inner tube member 98.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sleet scraper apparatus for an electrically powered railway vehicle carried by truck means adjacent to a third rail, scraper head frame means including scraper blades for coacting with said third rail, arm means supporting said scraper head frame means for movement along the axis of said third rail, means mounting said arm means to said truck means, and torque means, formed of electrically non-conductive material interposed between said scraper head frame means and said arm means, said torque means being mounted to said arm means and carrying said scraper head frame means.

2. In the sleet scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means mounting said arm means to said truck means constitutes a bracket projecting from said truck, and a pivot connecting said arm means to said bracket.

3. In the sleet scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 2 and including a spring coacting with said bracket and said arm means for urging said scraper blades into engagement with said third rail.

4. In the sleet scraper apparatus as set forth in claim 2 and including a cam, means mounting said cam for pivotal movement relative to said bracket, manual means associated with said cam for moving said cam from one position in engagement with said arm means to another position out of engagement with said arm means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 700,689 5/ 1902 Hobbs 191-29 747,177 12/ 1903 Hoopes 191-29 1,871,239 9/1932 Schaake 191-30 2,769,631 4/ 1952 Pierce. 3,229,798 1/ 1966 Grashoif 267-172 3,436,069 4/ 1969 Henschen 267-57.1 1,450,141 3/1923 Davis 191-49 DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner R. SAIFER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 104-279 

